Arizona Mills
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
19 Reviews for Arizona Mills
Arizona Mills is what happens when Mesa and Peoria* have babies. That's all I'll say, as it's all been said already.
*Mesazonans and Peorians, I'm sorry, but some of your ilk has driven me to disrespect. If you're yelping and awesome, then you are exempt from this idiom.
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Arizona Mills is a large Outlet mall. It's huge! I was there yesterday and it was jam packed full of people.
Some of the things that they have here are an IMAX theatre, resturants, and lots of stores. I like it here becuase they have a bass shoe outlet, and I can get my sandals for cheap if I catch a sale at the right time.
I have not had a bad experience here yet, but I think its actually a nice mall. They have a huge food court, and tons of awesome stores to shop at for most price ranges. There's even Valet!
I reccomend this place for locals and travelers alike. Big, beautiful mall with loads of awesome shopping. I felt that it appeared to be a well taken care of mall, at least from the parts that I encountered.
As a side note tho, it is usually a very crowded place. Please be mindful if you have people with you that may not handle larger crowds,such as elderly or smaller children.
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So, I have this habit of taking all of my slacks and suits to the cleaners at once and it has never ever came back to bite me in the ass. That was until I found out this past Friday night that I would have to be present for an important meeting the following day and of course I would need to be dressed accordingly as usual. Damn.
It's 8 PM on a Friday evening and I must get a pair of slacks as quickly as possible. I had heard of Burlington Coat Factory carrying KC, RL amongst a few others so I figured I'd give it a try seeing as though I simply needed a basic black slack. The store locator directs me to Arizona Mills Mall as it has the closest Burlington Coat Factory to Chandler, so off I go.
Before I even get inside of the damn store I notice some idiot in a lime green thugmobile actually following me around the parking lot. I'm not talking about the two of us turning down the same aisle either...I am talking about deliberately driving in circles and hitting the same aisle three times only to see this guy's grille in my rearview the entire time. You know, some real Simon Sez kind of bullshit. He had followed me all of the way from Baseline & I-10 to the mall's parking lot only to continue following me, so of course, I am immediately thinking "Okay, what is this sorry bastard thinking of carjacking me or something?"
After finally reaching the point to where I was really concerned and about losing my patience I decide to abruptly park in the middle of the lot surrounded by no one. I sat ready and willing to surprise the shit out of this foolish bastard when he finally decides to go and park up in front of the store near the other cars. He gets out and sees me looking directly at him and clearly judging by his body language he is aware that he has been detected and is being watched.
I watch him go into the mall and purposely walk over past his thugmobile to check his plates. I actually enjoyed this part. Little did I know this would be the high point of my shopping experience at this place. I go inside and see the store packed with people that I want no where near me and a staff and store layout that is clearly oriented towards theft prevention.
And to think I called myself avoiding the hustle and bustle by not going to Chandler Fashion Mall. In hindsight, clearly I would have been much less annoyed had I just taken my happy ass to Chandler Fashion Mall as the congestion there is much more tolerable than what lied ahead at Arizona Mills Mall.
Anyway, I got the damn slacks and got the hell out, but if I could describe Arizona Mills Mall in two words they would be: "Umm, no."
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AZ Mills was set to be a desert oasis shopping mecca when it was built. The promised land of indoor retail outlet shoppity goodness. When it finally arrived, it was exciting and even worth the trip.
Today, it's a different story. Today, AZ Mills feels like a turf war zone. I can't tell you how many times I've been walking around and seen someone swaggering in front of me with his oversized pants hanging down below his ass, swimming in an XXXL tee, with a handgun tucked into the back waistband of his tighty-whites. I'm not kidding - I've literally seen people walking around carrying guns under their clothes here.
I haven't heard of a shooting taking place at AZ Mills though - perhaps it's a DMZ. Maybe there was a peace conference and they drew up a cease fire agreement. Either way - the place is kinda overrun during the day and evening with old-school gangsta goodness - the likes of which you haven't seen since the 90s.
The other thing you'll find here are children. Somehow this mall has replaced local parks or playgrounds as the hot spot for bad parents to take their shitty kids. I'm tall and don't always know what's going on near my feet - and I've leveled more than a few tiny kids to the floor. If high-pitched sounds (like shrieking or screaming children) inflict pain on your sensitive ear drums, then you may want to avoid this place or else bring some ear plugs.
This mall is not without its merits though - it's still a wonderful place to shop for Christmas gifts. Even though it's even more of a mad-house during this time, it's a one-stop bargain shop. I've done the Fashion Square thing numerous times as well as the Chandler Mall and FIesta and PV and have come up empty. AZ Mills just works. I always go home having bought everything for everyone.
My friend Steve will only go here in the very early morning before the gangstas show up... I'm not so picky. There's always the shopping satisfaction of having found everything you could ever want while surviving the dangerous atmosphere.
This place might get one more star if they had a bullet proof vest store.
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This place is an outlet mall. They have just about every store you usually find at an outlet mall, and more. There is also food and theaters with an IMAX. This place was near our resort on the south mountain side of Phoenix. With a little time to kill and always a need to shop we ventured in. Ok, so this place is not 5th avenue. The area surrounding the mall is not exactly the best part of town. And its outlets. It draws masses of people, mainly those who need to pay less for what they buy (was that PC enough?). We did not feel uncomfortable or put out by the people around us, though some of the children are just RUDE and not disciplined at all.
We had a few things on our shopping lists and then needed a little bite to eat. The mall had some great places. There was a bath and body works outlet that had some great prices. I would have bought more if I could have fit it all in the suitcase. There was also Gap, Oakley, JCPenney, Off 5th, Nordstroms, Billabong and more. Stuff I usually do not see at the outlets, and a welcomed change.
The place is huge and a big circle with a cut through the middle in case you just cant do it all. The food choices are pretty decent. The theater also offered quite a few movies and several choices for the IMAX too. We would have seen something if the times had worked out better for us.
I think you should go see shop here if you have things you are looking for, are not afraid of crowds, are not intimidated by people who NEED to shop at the outlets, and want to see cheaper versions of your favorite stores that you haven't seen in outlet form before.
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It's a good deal to be a kid; you get a new wardrobe at least once a year. I'd love that for myself. Unless, of course, the proviso is that you have to move up a size each year.
Needless to say, we buy loads of clothes for our kiddlets. I like having them dressed well but I also don't like paying too much. My solution? Outlet shopping!
Ah, Arizona Mills. . . . it really is a love/hate relationship between us, isn't it? On the one hand, I could go there and get everything for the kids. Old Navy, Children's Place and Skechers outlets just to name a few. Yes, please! On the other hand, I hate that it is ALWAYS crowded. Coming here makes me somewhat understand those people that get in fights on Black Friday. I'm always on the verge of punching someone. Not to get to an item but out of sheer frustration. I also hate the whole walking around in a circle thing. I feel like I can't stop because I'll get poked by a cattle prod.
It really comes down to good prices vs. horrible crowds. Well, as a parent, one has to make many sacrifices. I suppose tolerating the masses isn't so bad after all.
I must thank the Hermit crab guy for not giving me crabs this time. (That sounds wrong, huh?) I mean that they always used to try to place one of those tiny crustacean monsters on my hand to make me look like a total idiot. Not this time. Thanks. Painted shell or not, I can't stand those things.
As for you, Arizona Mills, I've had enough of you for a while. See you at around holiday time.
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I wouldn't say I'm agoraphobic, I just don't like masses of humanity buzzing around me, and Arizona Mills is ALWAYS full of people.
This place is gigantic and circular, with streams of people going in every which way. I feel like I'm in a roller derby when I go into this place. It's definitely the place to hangout, which results in packs of teens randomly standing in clumps among the rat race.
Regarding the stores, there are plenty of outlet deals, but not a whole lot of stores I'd really shop at in the first place (who puts a Sports Authority in a mall?!).
Oh, and the parking is atrocious.
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if your looking for non stop shopping, this is your place. i loved all the discounted stores that were in the mall. i went into marshall's {which was not an outlet}, and found the lulu guinness perfume that i had been wanting forever, that's normally like $60! i couldn't believe the score, and it came with a travel size mini perfume and huge tube of lotion.
so if your looking for inexpensive goods or name brands, whether it be clothes, shoes, accessories or what have you, take a look in here, they have plenty to offer, shopping wise. plus they have music stores, coffee shops and a movie theater. but be prepared to spend the whole day there.
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I'm not one to yelp every single place I go, but this poor little mall is getting attacked by negativity.
First, if you are here for work, it's a great place to kill some time. This mall is EXACTLY identical in layout and shops to the Great Mall of Milpenis in the South Bay (San Fran area).
Big LOSERS
Off 5th- Nothing good but very organized
Last Chance- pig stye, ugly designer clothes and just stuff everywhere
PUPPY STORE!!! They are BAD, I hate those damn places where the cute little puppies are in little boxes with fecies all over and they look sad!! This place should be SHUT DOWN!
Big Wins**
Nike Outlet store, got an extra 30% off already marked down stuff, so I got more work out stuff, 2 Nike bikini's which are built more like sports bras so they are great for rafting, snorkeling, you can even hike in them.
Nine West Outlet! OMG they had so many 12's I couldn't believe it I left with 3 pairs of shoes including brown pointy toed boots!
Bath and Body Works Outlet- all lotions $3.99, fantastic!
As with any outlet mall it is always hit or miss. I wasn't in the mood to go sifting through the racks at Ross or Marshalls...
There is a rainforest Cafe there, and an IMAX to set this outlet mall a little bit apart than other outlet stips...
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It's always interesting to visit places where real estate isn't at such a premium... you get bigger hotel rooms and enormous one-story malls. This is one of the latter.
Some of the stores are true outlets, but others are just their regular selves without any noticeable discounts. I did find some good deals and got quite a workout trying to hit most of the shops in the 2 hours I had there.
Plus one star: I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the bathrooms and the availability of maps.
Minus one star: I didn't like how it was hard to get from one side to the other -- there should be more places to cross through.
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When Arizona Mills first opened, I was a fan of this massive one-story mall. But over the years, it's lost the appeal. While I still love some of the shops such as Shoe Pavilion, Bebe and the Saks Fifth Avenue outlet, it's very rare that I'll head to Arizona Mills unless it's a week day when it's a little more quiet.
Weekends are a nightmare here. It's g-h-e-t-t-o. The mall has become quite the high school hangout and it's a favorite with parents who flood the mall with their strollers and walk at an extremely slow pace.
While it's great to have such a big mall near my pad, I'd rather make the drive to Fashion Square on the weekends.
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I hate this mall. Whoever said it was Metrocenter for the East Valley is right.
Parking is always a nightmare, the single story let's-all-walk-in-a-circle-like-cattle layout sucks and it is screaming baby/stroller central.
I give this mall one star only because of the Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs in the food court.
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I think this mall is one of the best in the valley. It is nice to go to a mall, and then see a Ross. If you want an unpretentious mall experience this is it. You probably won't find all the overpriced and over-hyped brans that you would in Snottsdale, but for most of us that is great.
However, be prepared to walk in a huge circle.
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The circular design makes for a sort of mall purgatory where one must cycle past the same background endlessly. If you can remember which door you came in, you escape to the next level.
Quick tip: If you go to the information booth, you can get an out-of-towner coupon book. 98% of these are pretty worthless, but there's one coupon for a buy one get one free IMAX ticket. It's a pretty good value if you want to take a girl to the mall to watch a shark documentary on a gigantic screen.
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Maybe I'm becoming to fazed by all of the Scottsdale malls, but something about Mills just bothers me. Now I love bargains just as much as the next person, but all of the outlets tend to exhaust me after about twenty minutes! There are tons of sales on lets face it nothing anyone really wants, as well of a plethora of stores I don't like to visit when I am at a regular mall. It was exciting the first time I went, but last time I was there I pretty much walked the full (large) mall in half an hour and was ready to go!
Cool Places in Mills:
Rain Forest Cafe
IMAX
Forever 21
Hello Kitty Store
Love Sack
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If you love a bargain especially from NM and Saks- well this is your place to go...this vacuous space contains retail stores that offer clearance prices...don your rollerblades cuz its going to take a while ;-)
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I found this mall very sad. I couldn't find food here. The highlight was some cantaloupe gelato sample at some kiosk in the mall. Also found some Naked Juice in the Hi-Health supplements store.
An eerie womans voice informed me that I could use my Discover card to get extra rewards at the mall as I walked through the automatic doors, minority report style. Creepy.
Also I was ambushed my numerous unhappy looking salespeople pushing face creams from little kiosks. Maybe it was just me, but 99.999% of the people I saw at Arizona Mills Mall looked sad, disillusioned, or unhappy. (Maybe it was because they couldn't find any good food...?)
There is a Neiman Marcus Last Call here, but don't be fooled into thinking this is an upscale place. I would not recommend this mall to anyone, unless absolutely necessary. On a positive note, it is clean and air-conditioned inside.
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Tempe's own version of Metro Center?
I don't have much good to say about Arizona Mills. And I'm just going to say what I'm thinking- it's a little ghetto. You know those really cheap clothing stores with random names that pop up here and there in malls? They have quite a few of those. They're the ones that use such cheap material that even one washing does a shirt in.
And their outlet stores aren't that great, except Sak's is pretty cool and you can sometimes find some cute things at Bebe for good deals. The food court is so-so, but it is kinda cool that they have an Imax Theater there.
I don't know. I wouldn't ever come here unless I lived right by it and I suggest you do the same.
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pretty cool mall. had a bunch of outlets shops... i wanted to stop by the cactus candy store before leaving Arizona, but we couldn't because of the time. so i was very excited when i spotted a candy store in the mall and made a mad dash to get the goods. i was so elated that i bought three boxes of cactus candy. the lady there was helpful in explaining the various types of cactus candy. after gabbing with her, she even recommend several places that served authentic indigenous Arizona/Phoenix cuisine to grab dinner...
ya have to try cactus candy if given an opportunity. it's an interesting treat!
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